Maximum Devestation: The 190th Hunger Games
by Amie.Xx
Summary: Maximum Ride narrowly missed having to endure the Hunger Games when she was twelve. But now, at sixteen, she is not so lucky. Will her natural instinct for survival propel her in the competition? And why does Fang volunteer? ALL HUMAN
1. Chapter 1

**Okay, so, Only the Hunger Games ever happened, over 100 years ago. Only one competitor from each district is allowed to win and Katniss and Peter are both dead- District 12 has only had one winner since. Max is Prim's grand daughter and Katniss taught her father (Prim's son) all about hunting who, in turn, taught it to Max. Katniss never had children.**

* * *

><p>Dragging myself out of bed, I let out a sigh. Looking around, I notice my reaping outfit has been laid out on my bed for me next to my hunting gear. My sister, Angel and her brother, Gazzy (Dont ask- his stink could clear the seam) are sleeping soundlessly in the bunk below mine, as always, top and tailing <em>Sucks to be a twin, <em>I thought, looking longingly at my bed, where i would like to remain. Of course, as today is reaping day, I had to get up and prepare the feast. I scanned our tiny room. We lived in one of the less classy parts of the seam- of course, non of the seam is pretty classy. The bunkbed occupied a large percentage of our single-roomed apartment, with the remainder of the room being occupied by a very worn out sofa covered in a fur hide from a bear that I snared in the woods one day- dragging that through the Hob was a pain and a half- and two kitchen work tops and a stove. I placed a kiss on each of the children's foreheads before clambering silently down the stairs past the other four apartments of the once six- roomed house (The other room has been turned into a community bathroom).

When I reached the wall, I pulled my rope out of my back pack before making a noose in one end and attaching it to a tree on the other side of the wall. It took me mere minutes to scale the twenty two foot wall. Again, I thanked whatever Gods were out there that I no longer had to listen out for the thrumming out the electric fence. Few people these days even remembered electricity after it was cut off to the districts years ago. With the fence being the last to loose it's power source, I was of a very select group who know the pain of an electric shock. Actually, that group consisted of me, my father and my hunting partner, Iggy. Now the only source of electricity any districts had were the huge TV screen used only for national announcements and the Hunger Games tournaments.

I sat in the crook of the tree to wait for Iggy and smiled, remembering the day we were introduced.  
>My father and I had been out hunting when I was seven, when he left my by the lake, fishing to go collect a 'gift'. I laid back on the damp earth and closed my eyes as a small breeze coasted over my features. My eyes were immediately wrenched open seconds later when I heard a rustle in the trees nearby. Reflexively, I threw my spear in the direction of the rustle and unsheathed an arrow before holding it to my bow and crouching in a battle position. Neither of the weapons I used were my weapon of choice. Usually, I preferred hand-to-hand combat, of which I was trained in endless numbers of martial arts, this was why by the age of seven, I had already brought down two bears and a stray wolf with my bare hands. I was also extremely talented in the art of calling, able to mimic any bird song perfectly, thus drawing my prey in.<p>

I knew instictively that my spear had missed by the sheer power of my throw but hopefully it had managed to scare the animal away. What surprised me was that, emerging out of the bush was my father and a small boy who looked the same age as me. My father carried my spear in his hand while holding onto the boys arm with the other.  
>'Maximum, meet Iggy, he's an orphan.' My father called. I gave Iggy my best death-glare, to which he matched with one of his own. I snarled a 'hello' at him and he returned my snarl with a growl. This continued for ten minutes until i launched at him. We both tumbled off our feet into the lake, kicking and punching each other the whole way. As soon as we hit the lake, however, we both burst into fits of laughter, the sound contrasting starkly to the feral peacefulness of the forest.<p>

I chuckled in remembrance, we were weird children. However, having a hunting partner in the woods these days is immensely gratifying. My father had it all planned so perfectly, days after I had been introduced to Iggy, Father died from HIV, a common disease in the seam. His sudden death caused for me to be sent to live with my mother- a wealthy apothecary who lived in the merchants side of District 12. Lord knows why my Father was ever given custody of me. I think the judge wanted him to have a companion for his last days before he died. All i knew is that it was the same judge who granted me custody of Angel and Gazzy when Mother died and gave us a room at the half-way-house, a teenage apartment complex where I now live. Iggy lives in the room just above mine, sharing it with another Orphan called Fang. I had never much liked Fang, actually, I couldn't stand him. Normally, Iggy and I would journey to the seam together but last night he stayed in the mayors house acting as a guard for Fang while he made out with the mayors daughter, Lissa/ Queen bitch/ The red haired wonder- whatever you like to call her. That was pretty much the reason why I hated Fang, he was rude, cocky, abnoxious and he hardly ever spoke two words. Lissa was horrid to everyone and a right slut. Everyone knew she was cheating on him and was only going out with him for his looks and social status. Even Fang knew this and, in turn, he only stayed with her to protect his own back from the Mayor. Fang didn't hunt but was a paid hit man for people in the hob- if someone held a grudge, they could pay Fang to 'rough' the other guy up a bit. He never killed them but more often than not, they would turn up on my doorstep close to dying asking to be healed from inections and knife wounds or what-not as I was the only healer in the village after my mother and father had died. Actually, i stemmed from a whole line of healers and hunters- it ran in my blood.

I was brought out of my reverie by the sounds of someone scaling the walls. Seconds later, Iggy appeared in the tree by my side and hoisted the rope I had left up down. We stacked left fists and then tapped our fists with the back our right hands- our daily ritual. Without a single word to each other, we started to hunt. After an hour, we had gather two dozen fish from our nets in the lake, five rabbits and two squirrels from our snares and brought down a large beaver down by the lake. We scoured the pond and found a large batch of water cress and some katniss. All in all, an excelent haul. We reset all of our traps and trekked back over to the wall. Iggy climbed up a tree opposite me and handed me a batch of mint as a breakfast.

'How do you feel about reaping day?' He asked. I was extremely envious of Iggy, last year was his last reaping day, I still had two more to go. This year would be Fangs last, making Iggy, at nineteen, one year older than Fang and two older than me. Angel and Gazzy, the twins had both just turned nine, so thankfully, they weren't elligible for another few years leaving just me and Fang at risk. I only have my name in the hat five times this year, Fang, six. Neither of us wanted the risk of signing up for tesserea. Iggy told me Fang makes a bit of money of his business and food is in constant supply from Iggy. He has also sold himself to women once or twice although I find it hard to pity him. Trust me, he does it more than willingly, really the money is just a bonus, he would most likely sleep with the women for free. I get by just fine on my share of the food for me, Angel and Gazzy, I only ever make enough money to clear the rent but my apothecary business leaves plent spare for clothes and other nescessities. I actually have saved enough money to survive for a few months over the past couple of years. It gave me shudders just thinking of th reason why.

At twelve, my Mother had just died and I was struggling to take care of the four-year old twins. The food I recieved from the hunt was enough to sustain us although as it was winter, food was scarce and i was hungry. In desperation, I signed up for tesserea three times much to Iggy's displeasure. It was my first reaping day and I had barely just made it to spring alive, giving any food i found in winter to the twins. The social worker assigned to collect rent at the flats had given me her dress to wear and had walked me to the square. She was eighteen and so this was her last reaping day. Her mother, a blind old hag stayed to watch the twins as she was immobile anyway and so didn't have to attend. You are not required to attend below the age of five although most do as their parents must and there isn't anyone to care for them so the woman offered to watch the twins. By the time I reached the square, i was shaking from fear and cold. Desperately, I clung to the social worker's legs and she lent down to give me a peck on the cheek. I was shown to my section all he while training my eyes on the social worker. When Chloe Mac, a tiny, pixie like woman who always seems to be jolly read off introductions I stared at the social worker, praying that she would not be taken as she was the only nice person other than Iggy I knew.

When Chloe pulled the name out of the hat, it took me wha felt like endless seconds to comprehend what had happened. The camera zoomed in the the piece of paper and the on my face: _Maximum Ride;_ It read. Sluggishly, i willed my feet to move forward up the stairs to the stage. I was vaguely aware of Iggy's screaming and shocked gasps coming from the audience.

_'That's the healer's girl!' 'Not Max, she was so lovely' 'Poor girl' _But I paid not attention, only focusing on trying to grasp the fact that in mere days, I would probably be dead. Thats why I didn't notice when the social worker pulled me back, wrenching me off the stage and into her grasp. 'I volunteer!' She called 'I volunteer!' And then the crowd erupted into gossip.

_'Another Katniss Everdeen' _They whispered. It was ironic that I was related to the one girl who, over a hundred years ago had done the same thing for her sister and one. They even cheered slightly, obviously hoping that the same fate would come of this girl.

The next few weeks were torture. The old hag who was mother to the social worker killed herself, jumping off the tower of the justice building after saying her goodbyes to the social worker. The girl was a hero in her own home, banners and postrers of her were everywhere. The whole district pulled together to sponsor her. But, three days in, The Girl was drowned by a career from district one. He held her underwater while she bathed in the lake after joining an alliance with her, effectively, stabbing her in the back. Even though she only achieved a six in training, the whole of panem was routing for another 'Katniss Everdeen', even dubbing the career from district one her love interest when they formed an alliance. It was no surprise then, that when he betrayed her the whole country was in shock and outrage. District one didnt even stand by the boy and literally watched him starve to death as the game makers removed all signs of wildlife fron the meadow and forest where the games were held. Every day for a week he called out to his sponsors, shouting 'food' whenever he dared. No one mourned his death.

Ever since that close- call, I have always kept a small fund aside for when I die. Over the years, it has grown. If Iggy were to give Angel and Gazzy food, like he promised, there is enough rent saved for a year. I know that the two would be well looked after, they are adored by all in the seam and I have many friend among the hob and the townspeople who still remeber that hunger games. For the few months after the social-workers death, my family and I were showered with food and money. It seems what the social worker did brought a new wave of cameraderie over the people of district twelve and they were as determined to save me as she was. Focusing back on Iggy, I answered with a small shrug.

'Only two left now, Max, getting close. The end is near!' Iggy shouted dramatically, causing me to crack a smile.

'What about you?' I teased 'You made it!' I said the last bit in an imitation of the capitol accent, remeber Chloe Mac's words to all the eighteen year old every reaping day after the name calling. Me and Iggy both launched into the catchphrase.

'Congratualtions all eighteeners! You made it! It seems the odds were _ever_ in your favour.' My small smile morphed into a ful out grin. Last year, when she had said that line, the camera focused in on Iggy, expecting a positive reaction on hearing the news. Iggy instead crossed his eyes and stuck out his tongue before shouting 'Kiss my ass Hunger Games!' for the whole of the capitol to hear. I laughed in remembrance.


	2. Chapter 2

**My spell checking sucks. And Disclaimer: I don't own either story but the plot is all mine!**

When Iggy and I reached the Hob, we sold all of the fish, one rabbit and the beaver. We each kept a squirrel and a rabbit and exchanged the two remaining squirrels for two loaves of bread in which we both kept one. We spotted Mick, a peacekeeper and he offered us an extremely low price for the water cress as his sister had a stall where she sold food in the hob. However, I faked annoyance, stating that the price was too low. This was traditional banter for me and Mick- he always started out too low, I always made him raise it. In the end, as always, he gave us a decent price for the watercress as long as I added in a kiss. As usual, I laughed but complied all the same, knowing he was naturally a flirt. He handed the money to Iggy and grabbed my lower back before swooping down and kissing me. I even did the whole one-footed pop thing and many people in the hob cheered and laughed at us. It was no secret that as a peacekeeper he could afford- and did- to shell out for the occasional whore. He had offered me as such once or twice but I always turned him and the others down. I had even been nicknamed 'the forbidden fruit' in the hob for my endless teasing and never putting out. Iggy rolled his eyes at me and we continued on out of the hob. I exchanged the eggs from my four chickens I had at home for more money and handed half to Iggy. He tried to protest as technically, the Chickens were all mine but I forced the money on him anyway.

When we had finished our sale, we split the money in three. We both took a third of the money and the last third we put in the joint reaping pot, which would serve as the float if either me or Fang were chosen. Speaking of whom, we met up with Fang outside of the Hob, putting a large sum of money in his pocket, no doubt from the beating of the peacekeeper I had at my door last night. I had noted that he had flogged a known 'Hobber' (people who traded at the hob) last week- he probably would think twice before omitting a punishment like that again. Fang nodded at me and put in half of his money in the float.

'Excited about your last reaping?' I asked, even though I didn't like the guy, I was civil for Iggy. Fang nodded at me but made no attempt to converse. When we reached our flats, Iggy and I fist tapped and we all went our separate ways to prepare for the Reaping.

Angel and Gazzy were both already awake and ready for the day when I opened the door up to my flat. My reaping clothes were sat where I left them and Angel was dressed in an old blue dress of mine, which on her, was almost floor-length. Gazzy had washed and dressed himself in a shirt and trousers. I filled a small tub up with water and took a short bath before changing into a black velvet dress of my mothers. It was crocheted in intricate floral patterns at the top and floated down to my mid-thigh. I paired the dress with some flat black shoes and tied my hair into a bun on the top of my head. Angel skinned the squirrel and pan-fried a piece over the stove. I sliced the bread and spread it with the last of our butter and filled the sandwiches up with sliced squirrel. I handed one each to Angel and Gazzy and when they were finished, I gave them both half of mine each. I was feeling far too sick to eat. _Today could be the day_ I reminded myself.

I walked hand in hand with Angel and Gazzy to the square in town. As Iggy was no longer considered a potential tribute, the twins went to stand with him in a spot on the outskirts of the hoards of people. Both Iggy and I were conscious of large crowds and so I was grateful that he was not situated in the middle of the giant mass of people. I found Fang standing next to Iggy and we both made our way to our section of the possible-tribute area. As an impulse, when Fang left to go join his section, I reached out and squeezed his hand. Fang seemed just as shocked as I at the action. As if it were on fire, I quickly dropped his hand and took a huge step back aware that by now my cheeks had flushed red in embarrassment. I muttered 'sorry' to Fang, expecting him to laugh at me and humiliate me. Instead, he pulled me into him and hugged me before dispersing to his section. I stood like a fool for a few seconds before regaining my senses and carrying on to my section.

Standing on the stage were Chloe Mac, Mayor Witlock and Nugde Banner. Nudge was the only living winner of the Hunger Games District Twelve has. In the last Quarter Quell, She was chosen as a tribute. The difference that year was not in the rules but in the arena where the games were held. To remind the Districts how merciful The Capitol was at the time of our deceit, The Arena was specially designed to be 'merciful' to the players. It was basically a cavernous space covered with wires and computers. Each Tribute was injected with a small computer that was hooked up to a larger computer in their 'base'. If a tribute managed to get hold of the larger computer, they could 'terminate' the tribute who was connected to that computer- i think it basically stopped their hearts instantly. The only other method of killing a tribute was by electrocution, mainly through the giant cattle prodders found in the cornucopia. Nudge never managed to kill anyone directly. For the first week, she avoided trouble, only killing one person by electrocuting the wire they were standing on so that they fried to death. When there was sixteen tributes left, Nudge got hold of a base computer from one of the deceased tributes. She hacked into the mainframe and terminated all the other tributes through the one computer, thus pronouncing her winner. It was probably my favorite Hunger Games as it wasn't very brutal, it was actually very humane.

As always, Nudge and Chloe gossiped and chatted constantly, both managing to keep up a steady stream of conversation. Mayor Witlock was a stout, pompous old man with sickly green skin and thinning red hair. You could immediately see the resemblance between him and his daughter, Lissa. Chloe gave the traditional speech, about how panem rose from the ashes of the old world and went on to explain the rebellion of the Districts which consequently ended in the downfall of District Thirteen and as a constant reminder of how we are at the capitol's mercy, the Hunger Games. As always Chloe trilled a 'Ladies First' before bouncing over to the small ball containing the names of all the eligible girls in District Twelve, among which sat five pieces of paper, all with _Maximum Ride_ written on them in harsh blue ink. A deafening silence settled abruptly among the crowd as Chloe's hand emerged from the ball with a piece of paper in. Chloe rose to the podium again. As she unfolded the piece of paper I had a moment to pray for my safekeeping. She called out the name of the unfortunate girl before the crowd erupted into screams of horror and defiance.

After the social workers sacrifice and the gifts from the people of district twelve, they still did not manage to save me. My eyes zeroed in on my death sentence. The piece of paper that read: _Maximum Ride_.


	3. Chapter 3

**This chapter is mostly just background stuff but; what they hey!**

My Father took me out into the woods one time and showed me a hunting weapon he found one day. It was similar to one seen on TV when they played repeats of the rebellion. He called it a gun. Wendell sold him some bullets for it from the hob. We were as deep into the forest as we ever dared to go when he pulled it out and fired it. The sudden Boom that erupted from within it shocked me and caused me to scream out. It was like a warning cry to all the animals in the forest, for a few seconds all was silent and then startled cries and shouts chorused all around us. The sudden ripple effect of the gun paled in comparison the the angry barks coming from the crowd. My legs worked on auto pilot, transporting me up to the stage. On camera, I looked emotionless, blank but inside i felt like a crumbling mass of despair. I was concerned not for myself but for Angel, Gazzy and Iggy. I sought them out in the crowd. Iggy was a white as a sheet as he looked between me and the angry crowd. Gazzy was desperately trying to loosen Iggy's grip on his arm, looking like he wanted to run free. To get anywhere, be anywhere else. Just. Not here. Not here where sudden death hung over everything. Iggy was cradling Angel in his arms, rocking her backwards and forwards, trying no doubt to soothe her.

When I reached the stage, silence once again settled over the crowd. Every single person looked at me with the same look of despair etched on their faces. When Chloe asked for volunteers, not surprisingly, no one raised their hand. I could hear whispers coming from the crowd; as much as they wanted to save me, their self preservation seemed to freeze them in place. I didn't mind, nor did i blame them. It seemed the odds really were against me. I smiled at my peers and neighbors to let them know i was okay.

Chloe was much less enthusiastic when she reached the boy's names. Still, she pulled a name out of the small ball holding the boys names and walked over to the podium. A collective gasp came from the audience before she red out the boy's name: Adam Robinson. A small boy who I assumed to be Adam, for I had never met him, stepped forward. He could only be thirteen or fourteen in age and was incredibly short, often the case for malnourished people from the seam, as he obviously was. His skin was that pale yellow that came from lack of fresh food and water and his cheek bones were sunken and hollow. His hair fell limply around his face and his swollen stomach protruded from his frame, showing definite signs of Kwashiorkor. Twice on his way to the stage, his knees gave out and he fell into his peers, having to be helped up before he could carry on. I prayed he would buck up his ideas or he would be sighted immediately as an easy target. I could imagine the peacekeeper voices as they gambled over the games; 'I give him a day, two, tops!' 'Please, he wont even make it past the cornucopia.' 'I say a career will get 'im ten minutes in to the bloodbath' It gave me shudders just to think about.

I wonder how long they think I will last.

Adam finally made it to the stage and took his place next to me. I prepared to zone out while Chloe asked for volunteers, knowing there wouldn't be any when one voice in particular caught my attentio.

'I volunteer!' What? What was he doing? Why was Fang Venom volunteering? But the answer came to me, hitting me full on with brute force.

He wanted to kill me.

I was thirteen when it happened. A Peacekeeper had been seen in town carrying a squirrel I had shot and sold him by another Peacekeeper, one that wasn't corrupt. He tried to claim he'd confiscated it off me (technically it was mine) an the whole town was called to a public trial. I, however, had the whole of the Hob backing me up; you don't grass up another Hobber, it's not the way it's done. The Peacekeeper was publicly flogged and denounced of his title. The next day I was warned by Damian (He often traded stolen goods on the black market) that Fang had been seem being paid by the peacekeeper to 'rough me up a little', as he put it. Sure enough, later that night, when I was walking back from the hob, I was attacked. Someone tried to grab me from behind but I spun around and punched them in he face, kicked their knee cap and elbowed them twice on the neck so they passed out.

I never saw their face but when I bumped into Fang the next day, he had a broken nose. Up until then I had never spoken to him but I lost it; I shouted accusations at him, something along the lines of' how could you do that to Iggy? Do you enjoy beating the snot out of people? Hitting a girl, huh? Real classy!' Then, he kissed me. Out of nowhere, he swooped his lips down on mine, attacking them with vigor. For a minute I was stunned before I punched him square in the jaw and ran off. For a week after that we didn't speak although I never mentioned it to Iggy. I know the Peacekeeper wasn't happy with Fang- he even tried to make Fang pay- and in return, Fang broke his arm (surprise supervise, he didn't come to me for help with that) but it was an unmentioned rule that we never spoke of it. I guess now, he was getting his sick version of payback: Seeing the life drained out of me.

No one spoke a word while Fang made his way to the stage. Both of us stayed impassive while Chloe finished up and we were ushered into the Justice building. We didn't even look at each other. The First to come say goodbye to me was Iggy, with Angel and Gazzy. The twins climbed into my lap while Iggy promised to look after them. I hung onto his arm for dear life

'Promise you'll keep them safe? Teach them to hunt, move into my flat with them- you don't need the two rooms now. Keep them safe' I cried. He promised to do a much, nodding his head and kissing my cheeks. Just as we had promised in earlier years, no goodbyes were left hanging in the air, no tears were shed, just a prolonged silence that said it all. A peacekeeper came to escort the out when Angel clung to my arm.

'You have to try, Max. You can do it. I know you can. For me? For Dad?' I smiled sadly at Angel and wrapped the twins in my arms.

'I promise.' I whispered solemnly 'I promise.'

The next in to see me were my friend from the Hob; Damian, Mick, Sasha (Mick's sister) and Wendell, who after twenty years of friendship with my Father, I still remain close to. I made them all promise to accept trade from Angel and Gazzy just as easily as they had me. I even bantered with Mick about how I was destined to die a virgin, although we soon shut up after Sasha burst into tears and ran out. Damian and Mick followed shortly after while Wendell pulled me off to one side.

'Max, you have to know something. Don't hate Fang. Years ago, after the death of the social worker, everyone in the hob made a deal. You have to under-'

'Right guys time's up!' A Peacekeeper called as he forcefully dragged Wendell out of the room. He mouthed something to me but I didn't hear. Instead, placing in my hands a small gold pin. I recognized it instantly as my Father's. Before that, it belonged to Katniss Everdeen. My Family's emblem and my token for the Hunger games.

The Mockingjay.


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I don't own either story .One more chapter and then the fun starts.**

Chloe and Nudge were already on the train when Fang and I entered. I trusted Wendell. Possibly with my life but some part of me still made me wary of Fang. I had seen the damage he had done to some of his victims. He never even felt any remorse for it, so, for that reason, I had resolved to stay away from Fang. Chloe showed me to my room in the train and I showered and brushed the knots out of my hair. Inside the dresser in my extravagent room were equally extravagent clothes. I dressed in plain green linen trousers and a black cotton t-shirt before french plaiting my hair so that the plait swooped from my left ear to my right ear and over my right shoulder, hanging about at the end of my ribcage. As an afterthought, I tacked on my mockinjay pin.

I re-joined the others in the dining room where Fang had changed his basic black ensemble for a slightly different basic black ensemble. Laid out on the dining table was a feast. The silk table cloth was covered in plates of roast lamb in a creamy sauce, piles of roasted, mashed and fried potatoes. Carrots, beans, peas, sweetcorn, broccoli and cabbage docked plates surrounding two whole chickens and some form of meat casserole. I hungrily grabbed a plate and piled it high with everything. Being a girl from the seams, half of the food laid out on the table was as foreign to me as flying. We were always well fed when it came to meat but this food was in a whole different league to the rabbits I brought home. I devoured not one, not two but three plates of food while Chloe and Nudge looked on disgustedly. Screw you and your plushy capitol lifestyle.

'Okay! Right let's talk battle strategies! Do you want to be trained separately or together? I was trained with my partner because it was sooo much easier but it's up to you. I mean, do you get on? If not then why?' I stared at Nudge, stunned. That should have been her battle strategy- talking people's head off. She would have won hands down. Not that it made a difference.

'Errm, it's up to Fang. I dont care- either way.'

'Together.' Fang said in that crazy, one-word-sums-it-all way he has.

'Okay then, what skills do you have? Max?' I thought about it for a second. Surely, Fang knew all about my Hunting skills from Iggy, no point trying to deny it.

'Well, I'm fast and good at hand to hand combat. I can handle most weapons but not very well and that's about it...' I trailed off. After I tohught about it, it wasn't that impressive. My last flicker of hope I had dwindled.

'She's wrestled a bear to the ground before. And she has amazing senses- she's best with a bow and arrow or knives. She can't command a spear to save her life.' Fang spoke up from behind me. I was about to protest when I realised that that was the most i'd ever heard him say. And it was a huge compliment.

'I'm a competent fighter and i'm stealthy but i dont have a chance, anyway.' Fang tacked on as an after thought. Suddenly, I had this huge need to defend him.

'He lies. He's an amazing fighter- takes on multiple grown men at a time. And he moves silently- he could sneak up behing you and kill you in seconds. And i've seen him pin a man's shirt to a wall with a knife from thirty metres away before.' I finished, out of breath slightly. During my outburst, Fang and I had jumped up and faced each other, now I was practically shouting and, although he looked impassive, his eyes showed signs of anger. The little flecks of gold in the deep abysses flaring ever so slightly. My hands were clenching into fists at my side when, thankfully, we were inturrupted.

An attendant on the train directed us to the sofa's where the repeats of the reaping were being played. From District one, two careers volunteered, an ugly looking seven foot mess called Gozen and a stuck up sixteen year old girl called Maya, who I just couldn't stand- she looked stuck up and acted superior and Fang couldnt keep his eyes off of her. From district two, an unusually thin girl called Star was picked. The male tribute, a burly boy called Ratchett volunteered. Neither of the district three tributes stuck out. The other two careers from District four, Kate and Holden seemed both very small and passive- unusually weird for District four. The only other contestants who stood out from five to eleven was a red haired girl from district six called Brigid and a twelve year old boy from district seven called Ari, who looked almost full grown with a developed torso and an impressive six foot physique. I told myself to keep an eye on those two in particular.

I dismissed myself early and went to bed. I didn't even bothering showering, as Nudge had told me that the stylist would force me to bath anyway tomorrow. She was right- when we arrived in the Capitol, i had no time to enjoy the scenery before I was whisked off by My stylist and her team. My stylist, Valencia Martinez was fresh out of college and this was her first year. Her team consisted of three obviously Capitol people called Ella, JJ and Sam. Ella and JJ were both stick think with multiple piercings on their faces. Ella was tall, tanned with long, black hair and she had whiskers lining her face, obviously from some sort of surgery. JJ had tattoos of flowers covering half of her face and bright pink curly hair. She was surprisingly short compared to Ella though. Sam was by far the weirdest, he had some sort of contact lense in that made the whole of his eyes from the white to the pupil black. He had a weird bone piercing through his nose and his skin was dyed a harsh white, making his eyes and raven black mohican eyen more stark in contrast. The whole look was utterly terrifying but what scared me the most was that when he opened his mouth, all his teeth had been filed to sharp points and the tips dyed blood red. When Sam saw me staring, he simply replied 'Goth's all the rage this season!'.

Valencia left me in the capable hands of my team. Firstly, they bathed me in bright green syrup before making me endure a freezing cold shower. Then, they left me in this full body machine while they cut and dyed my hair and covered it in tin foil on the top of my head. The machine felt like it was searing my skin but after half an hour in the machine, I got out to find that every hair on my body had been lasered off. They again made me shower before covering me in rose smelling grease. They buffed and polished my face and neck and covered my nails in a shimmering red polish. Then, Valencia was called in while I stood in my birthday suit in the middle of the room. She commented on my hair- directing them on the style before personally applying the makeup. Then, they blindfolded me while my body was shimmed into floating wisps of material.

I barely recognised myself when I was done. After Cinna (a famous district twelve stylist) died years ago, stylists have slowly converted back to the idea of our district being represented by coal mining but it seems Valencia has ressurected the idea of 'Fire' and made i ten times more powerful. My hair had been cut off to just above my shoulders and dyed in varying shades of reds underneath, pinks in the middle and the tips of my hair on top were a bright orange with only the roots left my antural dirty blond. My makeup was striking on my face, my cheekbones, eyes and lips were defined in harsh reds that slowly bended and faded into my natural skin tone. After much deliberation, I had consented to them giving me a tattoo and now, between my shoulder blades were intricately drawn angel wings with the phrase 'Enjoy the ride' underneath. My dress was by far the most beatiful thing. It was completely backless so that my tattoo would be hard pressed to miss and looked like a fountain. The bottom was a black fitted skirt that only just covered my butt before splitting at the sides and travelling to the floor. The boddice started out fitted in black but as it reached my breasts, large sections of slightly transparent gold, red and yellow silk were attached so the hung limply at my sides. The top was strapless and was literally holded in by suction and crisscrossing lace at the back. It was a firery orange and more stretches of fabric hung off the top.

I was escorted to a chariot driven by four fire black horse where Fang stood in a plain black dress shirt and trousers, his stylist, Jeb was apparently going for the dark, sexy look as hi shirt was completely undone to reveal his defined abs which looked like they had been covered in oil. When Fang saw my dress, he raised an eyebrow but otherwise didn't say a word. I, myself found the dress a bit weird. How ever, when we stepped in the chariot, Valencia pressed a button and two fans at the bottom of our chariot turned on. They wqere accompanied by lights on the floor that cast shadows of Fangs face to make him look like a avenging angel. His shirt flared out behind him and all the pieces on my dress flared upwards, making me look like fire was literally licking at me. The chariot holding the distict one tributes started to move.

'This year, we have gone for fiery passion so, when the chariot stops Fang, kiss her.' Valencia instructed.

'What?' I screeched, luckily no one turned around. In fact, no one had noticed our attire yet either. I noted the district eleven chariot start to move.

'Kiss him. Passionately. That's an order. Until then, don't even acknowledge each other. Smile- charm the crowd Okay?' she shouted the last bit but I barely heard her over the roars of the crowd as we made our first public appearance.


	5. Chapter 5

**Read and Review please.**

**No tengo 'Maximum Ride' o 'Hunger Games. Gracias.**

The attention seemed to be focused whollely on the first few chariots but as the camera's moved slightly over our chariot, there was an uproar in the crowd. Our faces were illuminated by the lights from our feet. The air whipped my hair upwards, giving it what Valencia called a 'wind tossed' look. I snuck a glance at the TV screen to see that we were the main focus. With my new hair, striking make up and interesting attire, I really did look on fire. While the camera was focused on me, I blew a kiss to the camera and gave a cheeky wink, which caused the crowd to go wild.

The whole hour ride, I conversed with the crowd, throwing red roses that I found at my feet to them and blowing kisses. Fang remained impassive, but the effect still made the girls swoon. He was literally the epitome of tall, dark and handsome. People cheered and called our names and it seemed we hogged the majority of the camera's attention. When we reached the president Snow IV's mansion, Hans Gunther Hagen, head game maker and announcer gave the traditional speech. When he was done and just before we started to move, Fang brushed my hand in a 'it's time gesture'. Wordlessly, I turned to him and he forced his lips down onto mine. I'm ashamed to admit, we both got really into the kiss, my hand found his hair and i grabbed huge fistfuls of it. His hands roamed to my hips and the audience screamed when they worked their way towards my bottom, making my dress ride up in the process. After a long two minutes, our chariot started to move and so we pulled away. The whole ride back to the training centre we again hogged the majority of the camera- causing my blush and Fang's obnoxious smirk to be posted for all Panem to see.

After I had showered and eaten a ridiculous amount of food, we sat down on sofa's to watch the replays of events. Valencia and Jeb managed to get the idea of passion across perfectly. The announcers talked non stop of two fiersome and graceful tributes from district twelve whose sexual tension you could 'cut with a knife.' Nudge and Chloe were talking fanatically about how mad the Capitol was for us and how many potential sponsors they already had lined up. Apparently, you could see the fiery potential we have. Neither Fang nor I said a word.

That night, Fang and I were walking back to our rooms. Both of us were still tense from the kiss and possibly nervous about training but neither of us said a word until we reeached my room.  
>'About the kiss-' Fang begun. I had a feeling he wasn't just talking about the one on the chariot.<br>'Listen, don't. It's all part of the game Fang. It's cool.'

In training, Nudge advised us to hold back and not let our true potential show so I stuck to learning new traits such as the edible fruit station (I was fairly good at this station but as all the fruit and plants were from forests and not jungles and swamps, it gave me an idea of where the games were to be held) and knot tying. I was fairly decent at camoflague, weaponry, obviously, medicinal plants and snare making so I stayed away from them but I did spend some time at woodwork, learning how to make a bow and spear incase I didn't find one in the cornucopia. I managed to make a fairly decent bow, fashioning a bow string out of my own hair but I couldnt sharpen rocks very well to make arrows- I was, apparently too aggressive and impatient. I managed decently at the fire making station, managing to light a fire with wood and a splint. Fang got targeted by the careers, seeming to get cosy with District one tribute, Maya. Contradictorily, Gozen from District one stayed clear of the careers, something which rarely happened;it was an unspoken rule that the careers form a pack, take out the weaker opponents before turning on each other.

Nudge and I talked a lot about what I wanted to do in my private session. I always liked to have a plan and Nudge seemed to think that shoking them was the best way to get the gamemakers attention. Usually, by District twelve, the gamemakers were drunk and payed no attention to the tribute. I was certain my best points were archery but she told me to incorporate everything- creatiity always scored high with the Judges. Each and everytime we sat down, neither of us could agree on a plan. By the final day of training, Nudge gave up, declaring I was on my own.

My dispute with Nudge caused me to sit in the cafeteria shaking while Fang took his time in the training room. His plan was to simply fight with all the trainers, demonstrating an ability to survive the initial bloodbath at the cornucopia. It was a pretty sound plan, it would also tell his future with the careers- if he scored high, he was dead set to be in with a chance. Finally, a wiry male gamemaker came in and showed me to the training centre. Plans were formulating in my mind and as soon as stepped foot in the arena, I knew what to do.

Not many of the judges were paying attention so i jogged up to the knot-tying station and grabbed as much rope as I could before going up to the woodwork station. There, I fashioned a hook and attached it to a long piece of rope. On either side of the training centre were ladders that carried you up to long metal poles screwed parallel to the wall with the ladder on. Above these poles were others that jutted out at 90 degree angles like gymnast's training bars. I climbed the ladder and tied one end of the rope to the metal pole parallel to the wall. I swung the other end around my arm while balncing on the ladder and threw it to the other side. The hook caught on the pole parallel to the wall on the other side. I tugged it and it remained strong. Satisfied, I did the same thing three times along the length of the training centre. I chose a bow and arrow and a spear (I had been practicing with one) and practiced a few shots on the target shot before calling to a helper at the side of the centre. I passed him five apples and asked him to throw them up one after the other in the air when I gave a bird call.

With everything set up, I climbed to the highest training bar and a did a few basket swings to gain momentum. Then, when I was paused in a sort of hand stand on the bars, I threw the spear to the light in the centre of the room, causing it to shatter and illuminate half the room in shadow and for several of the game makers to scream in shock. I back flipped off of the bar onto the rope in the middle of the room, grabbing it just before I went splat on the floor. Then grabbed my bow and arrow in full swing and gave a hawk cry to the training man. As he threw the first apple into the air, I let go of the rope, the momentum causing me to fly toward the rope on the far side of the room. Suspended in mid air, I shot two apples before grabbing onto the rope with one hand. I spun round it once before letting go and flying backwards, shooting a further two apples as I travelled through the air. I was now facing the wrong direction to once again grab onto the middle rope so I hooked my knee around it, dangling upside down to shoot the final apple out of the air. I let my knee drop so I started to fall on my hands. When they came into contact with the floor, I bounced off of them, doing a backflip that landed me on my feet. I turned around to face the Game makers, all who had looks of shock and awe plastered on their faces. Hans Gunther-Hagen looked positively gleeful. He dismissed me and I shot as fast as I could out of the room and climbed each and every stair to the twelfth floor where I collapsed on my bed in my room.

For the first time since Reaping day, I felt hopeful and giddy. Let the games begin...

After my brief state of ecstasy, I climbed into the shower before dressing in plain denim trousers and a white shirt. At dinner, Valencia, Jeb, Nudge and Chloe were all eager to know how Fang and I fared. In answer, Fang pointed to his now swollen left eye, indicating that he hadn't done so well in a fight. I hoped for his sake that the other guy looked worse. I tried to explain as best I could what I did in the training centre but Chloe and Nudge both looked confused so I must not have done it very well. Nudge went off on a tangent, the main gist of the conversation being 'I hope your scores represented your abilities better than you explained them' or something to that extent. I thing she was still slightly bitter as to my failing to come up with a plan before I entered. She was right, though, my spontanaity could ost me gravelly. A good trainin score could get you valuable sponsors who, in times of need, could save your life in the arena. Once again, we ate a lavish dinner before reconvening in the TV room.

I hadn't even realised I was shaking until Valencia squeezed my shoulder reassuringly, making me feel a hundred times better. The screen turned blue and then the face of Gozen from district one appeared on the screen. A '10' appeared below his picture before it changed to the girl tribute, Maya. Maya recieved a mediocre six, Star and Ratchett both recieved an eight. Kate from four recieved an eight also and the wiry boy from four, Holden surprised me by gaining a decent seven. Brigid from six only recieed a four but Ari from seven managed to land himself a colossal nine. The other tribute's score ranged from two to seven. A cute looking sixteen year old boy called Sam from district eleven and his twelve year old companion called Alissa both recieved sevens. The thought of the twelve year old girl having anything seven worth to show the Judges shocked me but obviously they saw potential- I was going to have to keep my eye on her. When Fang's impassive face filled the screen, everyone in the room took a deep breath and cheered when he got an amazing score of eight. He only grumbled that it was mediocre, but really, he match and beat most of the careers. Nerves caused me to jump up in anticipation when my picture filled the screen. When my score was posted for all of Panem to see, I glanced at it, did a double take and rocketed out of the room as fast as I could go.

I, Maximum Ride, recieved an Eleven. The highest score of any of the tributes. Ever.


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I dont own either story**

**WOW three reviews! At least someone reads my story.**

**Thankyou to **_**Trinity The Crazy, RuneSabre **_**and **_**newsert**_**! This chappie is extra long just for you! **

**I am trying to work on spelling and punctuation and things but, I'm crap and tired- so many exams going on at the moment. Maybe I should get a beta...**

**Read and Review please :D**

In the past, very few tributes recieved scores higher than ten. The careers usually get between eight and ten. Actually, now I think about it, our careers didn't do very well this year. Few people ever got a one or two. There was the occasional ten from people other than the careers but that was about it. Katniss Everdeen was the first non career to reach an eleven and the last. Careers have stepped up the game since then but no one has ever gotten a twelve. I was the fifth ever tribute to reach my score and the second from District Twelve.

That night, I fell asleep dreaming of different gaming scenarios. On the one hand, this eleven gives me a huge advantage with sponsors. On the other, it makes me a target. I was hopeful, though. It wasn't often the Game Makers got it wrong.

I was woken up to Valencia impatiently shaking my shoulder.

'Get up! I only have so much time alloted to make you interview outfit perfect!' She hissed in my ear. Grudgingly, I dragged myself up out of bed. Ella, JJ and Sam immediately swarmed me. I half heartedly paid attention to their chattering as they buffed and polished my skin and weaved intricate designs into my hair. Someone placed a plate of roles and a cup of warm brown liquid infront of me. I quickly snatched up the roles and gulped down the liquid to find it surprisingly sweet. When they were apparently finished, Valencia came in. They all hugged me and wished me well, seeing as they wouldn't see me tomorrow. I smiled reassuringly at them, not noticing how attached I had gotten.

Valencia dressed me in a plain black boob tube that showed off my stomach and was backless, with ribbon that tied in an 'X' to show off my tattoo. Sam had spent endless minutes glueing little diamonds to my stomach in everchanging shades of warm oranges and reds. I was wearing a pair of black shorts with shimmering gold fabric wrapped around them like a sarong. She place me in a pair of large black heels and I thanked whatever Gods were out there for Nudge's training or I wouldn't be able to walk in the damn things. Following on with the theme of 'Fiery passion', Nudge wanted me to be coy and seductive but after endless hours of me growling answers at her, I wasn't sure the approach would work.

Any fears I had about being flirtatious or seductive disappeared when I saw the interviewer, Dylan. He was the epitome of Gorgeous; Broad shouldered, golden haired with trusting blue eyes, I just wanted to swoon all over him. It appeared he was a ladies man too as he flirted with each and every one of the tributes. Most of the careers had also gone for a flirtatious air but none of them really managed to pull it off. Gozen, from one had clearly gone for the brawn. He only gave yes or no monotone answers. Ratchette was much more friendly and had a cocky air about him. Holden failed at his attempt to be humble but Dylan worked it with him, making teasing banter with him. Ari had obviously gone for a intimidating edge and Dylan is ether an amazing actor and caught on immediately or was generally scared of Ari; either way, the look worked. Fang answered shortly but with more than a yes or no and each answer he made was elusive and aired arrogance. The girls absolutely swooned. Then, the buzzer went off and he sat down next to me, giving my leg a reassuring brush as he went.

As I walked up to the stage, I felt quietly confident. I was thankful Dylan was good looking, I dont think I could have pulled off flirting with an old man but with this boy, finally all my light banter at the hob came in handy.

When I reached Dylan, he held out his hand to shake like all the other contestants but I laughed, hugged him and planted a kiss on his cheek, like we were old friends. We both sat down on the plushy arm chairs facing each other.

'So, Maximum,' Dylan started. I turned to him, leaning in as he spoke. 'How do you like your stay at the capitol so far?' He asked.

'Well, the companys amazing' I cooed as I leaned closer to him. 'And' I started, before I paused, inches from his face. I gave out a sigh and turned to the audience. Gesturing at Dylan, I added. 'The view's not too bad either.' To which the audience cracked up in laughter.

Dylan seemed dazed and it took him a moment to compose himself. When he did, he smiled at me, his gaze lingering further south than my eye level.

'And what about that eleven in training? You really are something!' I laughed airily.

'Well, I like to think I gave the Game makers a show' I said and winked at the balcony where they sat. The gamemakers laughed and one even shouted 'She sure did!' I grinned and turned back to Dylan.

'Speaking of that eleven, how do you feel about people comparing you to Katniss Everdeen?' I grinned, this was the one question I was hoping for.

'Well, I feel privileged, being compared to such an amazing person. Of course, it helps that I am realated to her.' I paused here, to let that sink in with the audience. 'I like to think that maybe the same fate can come of me as it did her! What do you think Fang?' I shouted suggestively and turned to him. The camera's zoomed in on his face but he remained impassive. 'Hmm, maybe not. Well Dylan. Guess I'm on the market.' I sighed dejectledly and leaned back, exposing my long legs to Dylan. He gulped but before he could continue speaking, I added. 'It helps that my designer's a genius. I mean, look at this outfit. Isn't it just stunning?' I asked and leaped up. I twirled once, prentending to stumble and fall into Dylan. My hand facing the audience grazed his arm.

'Uh huh' Dylan stuttered just as the buzzer sounded.

'Give a big round of applause to Maximum Ride' Dylan shouted and the audience burst into applause. This time, he embraced me in a hug and once again, I kissed his cheek. Walking back to my seat, I saw the camera alternating between me and Dylan. I paused, looked back and winked at Dylan when the camera was on me before walking back to my seat, swinging my hips more than usual. I looked up to see Dylan blushing on the big screen. Next to me, Fang muttered 'You looked cosy.' I looked at him, startled. His tone sounded bitter and jealous, almost. But that was crazy! I quickly shoved the thought aside.

Nudge gushed when we watched the replays. On screen, my performance was just as seductive and flirtatious as I imagined it to look. However, the diamonds covering my skin were so expensive, I was forced to take each one off hand by hand and deposit them in a tray. In the end, Nudge had to come help me take the diamonds off of my back. I changed into pyjamas and joined the other back in the sitting room to say our goodbyes.

'You two were amazing!' Chloe gushed. I hugged her and she wrapped her arms around Fang. Nudge did the same but Fang managed a small pat on the back for her. He and Chloe left shortly after. Nudge turned to me as Fang exited.

'We're going on a shopping trip when you get back, okay?' she demanded. Before waiting for a reply from me, she left. I didn't point out that I probably wouldn't see her again.

As I made my way down the corridor to my room, Large hands grabbed me and pinned me up against a wall. I knew it was Fang as soon as his lips touched mine, attacking me with the same, vigor and force he used when we kissed in twelve. I melted into his kiss quickly, my brain shorting out from the passion. My hands found their way to his chest and I grabbed handfuls of his shirt. His hands stayed either side of me, leaning against the wall so he didn't crush me. This realisation, that I was being blocked in to the wall by Fang caused me to unlatch my hands and push his chest ever so lightly. He was the Enemy, I reminded myself.

'Fang, what are you doing?' I asked breathlessly when he pulled away. His lips traveled down to my neck and he planted kisses along my collar bone, making me almost moan in pleasure. He stopped above my breast and sighed before looking back at me.

'I'll probably be dead within a week.' He paused. 'You, on the other hand, Mockingjay. I'm sure Nudge will get that shopping trip, after all.' Wait- he heard? Mockingjay? Okay... crazy.

'I have just as much chance as you Fang. The game's not over yet.' Fang didn't show signs of budging. He shook his head stubbornly before pausing suddenly. Slowly, seductively, he brought his eyes to mine. When he spoke, his voice was much deeper and huskier.

'Well, if that's what you think, I'm sure you wouldn't want to die a virgin.' I recoiled, as if i'd been slapped. So thats what he wanted...

'Fang.' I said, all hints of breathlessness gone. This was badass Max, out for the kill. 'I'm not sleeping with you. I dont care what you think of me. All that today was just a show. In several hours, you'll be trying to kill me. What, tomorrow, will you want a quickie in the bushes before you drive a knife into my back?' Suddenly, I was engulfed in fiery hatred. To him, all girls are is sex toys, a knotch on his bed post. Well, not me. He volunteered to go against me, I reminded myself. Maybe i'll look forward to killing him in the arena after all. With that, I shoved him roughly into the wall opposite and sauntered off to bed.

Let the games begin, Fang Walker.

I woke at six in the morning. I felt stangely calm which was odd, considering in a few hours I would be sent to impending doom. But I didn't dwell on it. I ordered a large glass of water (Not knowing when I would next get any in the arena) and manged to drink two before Valencia came and got me to help me get ready. Without a word, she braided my hair into my head in tiny french plaits that strated on my hair line and trailed all the way down to the ends of my hair. She didn't bother with any make up and I stayed in my pyjamas as we wouldn't get my outfit until we were at the arena.

Valencia held my hand all the way to the roof and stayed with me after I got my tracker shot. We didn't bother making small talk, just sat in a humble silence. I drank another two glasses of water and ate a large serving of breakfast. I needed ever advantage I could get in the arena. I didn't notice the windows on the hovercraft go down and so when we landed and I was led to my holding area, I felt slightly calm. When Valencia came in with a light blue jumpsuit and lightweight trainers, it hit me exactly what I was about to do; this is it. I had only a small hope of surviving in the Arena.

'Get away from the cornucopia as quick as you can and try not to get noticed by the careers' Valencia whispered as she pinned my token on my jumpsuit.

'This got quite a few glances from the GameMakers- wasn't it Katnisses?' I simply nodded.

'It's beautiful. I hope it brings you the same luck it did her.' Again, I nodded. My breath started coming out in short gasps. I'm going to die. I'm going to die... Valencia grabbed my hand and rubbed soothing circles on my back, causing me to take deeper breaths.

'I have every faith in you Max. Remeber it's only a game. Your just in this for the ride, the ultimate, Maximum Ride' She chuckled and embraced me in a hug. A small tube engulfed me as I was plunged into darkness. When light once again reached my eyes, I was met with the beauty of the Arena.


	7. Chapter 7

**Okay, I'm sorry! Its been ages since I updated but Writers block is a hard thing to recover from. Seriously, I probably wont quit this story so I knocked out this chapter to see if you guys like the way I'm headed with the story. I'm always open to ideas and comments/ criticism so thanks to all who reviewed- you guys gave me the vital ideas I needed to get out of my slump. However, because of the stupor i'm in about this story, reviews might take longer than usual but dont give up on me! **

**Thanks to**** RuneSabre, hahahahahaHAHAnotfunny, Trinity The Crazy, 2laz2login, sk8erchick124, gpeach6, fanfiction to the max ****(I love Ariel but that was a serious Nudge moment- Love it :D)!**

**I'll use pretty much all of your ideas but most of them come to play later! Thankyou soo much!**

In front of me was the cornucopia, the sunlight reflecting off of its golden exterior. I registered Hans Gunther-Hagen talking but tuned him out as I scoped the arena. As far as I could tell, us tributes semi circled around the cornucopia, on a platform that was slightly raised about a foot higher than the earth surrounding it. Opposite us, a lake semi circled the cornucopia. It stayed about six feet away from the raised edges. There was a sort of outer circle after the lake; on the side with the lake, there were rolling hills and meadows and behind me and the other tributes was a huge expanse of forest, one hundred meters away. I gladly recognized some of the trees from twelve meaning that the trees were my first stop. Inside the mouth of the cornucopia, I could see large packs, tents and an array of weaponry; swords, knives, spears. I even spotted a bow and arrow. Dotted around the cornucopia, I could see back packs, a sleeping bag but saw no food. Just in front of me, I noticed a belt of knives and formulated a plan in my head.

When the klaxon went off, I sprung forward and snatched up the knives. Stealthily, I dove through the air and snatched a pack and a wrapped up sleeping bag on the turn. I slung all these over my shoulder. Glancing around, I noticed that the careers had convened at the cornucopia and several of the other tributes were fighting it out for certain items. Before the careers had time to select weapons, I unsheathed three of my seven daggers and launched them one after the other at the three tributes closest to me. One hit a girl in the back of the head and she dropped instantly. The second hit a boy closest to me in the chest and he, too went down. However, the third missed my chosen tribute and hit Maya in the back of the leg. The whole of the careers froze and turned to face me.

Without a second thought, I wrenched my dagger from the boy closest to me who I now recognized to be Frank or something from Five. I leaped off of the platform, somersaulting to land on my feet. I darted towards the woods. On the way, I spotted a pack of throwing stars discarded on the floor by a dead body. I picked them up without stopping before bursting into the safe embrace of the forest.

When I got there, I didn't stop. Twenty minutes later, I didn't stop. Finally, after a good hour on foot, I paused for a second and couldn't hear the sounds of anyone nearby. Just to be sure, I did a quick 360 before climbing in to a tree. I continued leaping form tree to tree for a further hour until I realized that with all the extra weight I was carrying, I couldn't go on much longer. I dropped down to the ground and dumped all of my stuff on the floor. I had five daggers left and a dozen throwing stars. I placed the belt of daggers around my waist. When I opened the backpack, I was disappointed to find that the only item inside of it was a strange looking Gas mask. Intrigued, I strapped the mask on over my head but to my dismay, it worked just like a normal mask. I also assessed the throwing stars. Unlike the ones I had seen in training, these stars were bulky and rather than slim, sharp points worthy of piercing a tributes heart, they had claw-like ends that were thicker and curved more than other stars.

The sound of crowing woke me from my musing just as a large bang erupted from my right. Overhead, a flock of birds cried in fear and warning and fled to the north. I hastily shoved the sleeping bag and stars into the backpack, strapping the gas mask I had over my head and shoulder so it ran across my chest. Flinging the pack over my shoulder, I wasted no time in travelling in the same direction as the birds.

I stopped only briefly to hear the sounds of cannon fire. I counted off the two tributes I had killed and then counted a further five. Seven down.

After a further hour, the sun started to set.

I couldn't quite place my finger on what was wrong. I was sitting on a large oak tree, surveying my surroundings. I could see nothing out of the ordinary, it was quiet and peaceful and yet my whole gut was churning and the hairs on the back of my neck were prickling. Normally, i trusted my instincts yet here everything was quiet. In fact, you could hear a pin drop. Which was unusual.

My eyes zeroed in on the squirrel droppings on the ground. I moved my attention further away to see deer tracks only a few yards out. Two trees to my right, sat an abandoned birds nest, claw marks etched into the trunk of the massive fir. This place should be bustling with evening activity and yet there was none.

Like the calm before a storm.

Carefully, I grabbed a large dead stick from the tree where I sat. I let it drop to the ground and it fell with an unholy THWACK. For a few seconds, nothing happened. I eased myself off of the tree, clinging to the branch with my hands, ready to leap the short distance to the earth when a deep rumble came from below. The trees around me shook and groaned in protest. Suddenly, a deep fissure appeared in the ground of a large tree opposite me. The roots of the tree crept out of the gap. The long fingers clawed round the dead branch I had thrown and With ease, the bony hand retreated, branch in its grasp. It drifted into the gap from which it had appeared before it was swallowed up into the Earth, showing no signs of ever having been there in the first place.

I hung from my branch, stunned.

The sound of the trumpet fan fair shocked me so much that I let go of one of my hands which was still clinging to the branch of the Oak tree. I was still hanging in my previous position, mouth opening and closing in a fish-esque style as I stared at the tree which could be nothing other than a Muttation. One that I had never seen before. Careful not to drop to the ground, I swung back and forth until I gained momentum before returning to my tree. As the anthem ended, I craned my head to the screen display in the sky.

The first face I saw was of a girl from three, followed by Frank from five, my kill. All the careers had survived. Bridget from six had made it however her male companion sadly had not. The girl from seven's face appeared on the screen and I recognized her as my other kill. Following her was the boy from eight and both tributes from ten. That made seven. I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding when I realized Fang was alive, although I couldn't quite place why.

**Review for Updates!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: James patterson still uses a pencil and paper, did you know? I dont so :P**

**I really love getting reviews so oce again thanks to ****hahahahahaHAHAnotfunny**** (sorry, I know it was short, this one's a bit longer :)), ****RuneSabre**** (I love you, you do make me laugh! ), ****Trinity The Craz****y (Thanks! Means a lot) and ****sk8erchick124**** (thanks for the ideas, much appreciated). This one's for you :D**

To be honest, I've never been squeamish about death. I've seen enough of it in my time to know it's inevitable- starvation, HIV, pneumonia, all common in the seam. However, I'd never been the reason those people were dead. I was always the one trying to heal them back to health.

As I slept on my tree that night, images of the seven victims of todays catastrophe haunted my dreams. I'd been running on adrenaline since I entered the cornucopia but now, it felt like a heavy weight had been dropped onto my stomach. I shot up from my restless sleep, bending over the branch I was on and dry heaved. My whole gut contracted in painful spasms, trying desperately to eject something but it seems my stomach was empty and the guilt it was trying to dislodge was stuck with me. Note to self; eat.

Soon, i slumped back against the trunk of my tree after my body had finished ejecting the last of nothing. For the first time, I noticed my mouth was painful dry. When was the last time I had a drink? I looked up at the horizon to see the sun was no where near rising, it must only be around midnight. Yet, it felt like I had been in the arena for days. I mustn't have drunk anything after this morning.

Knowing I wouldn't be able to sleep, i tried desperately to think of a game plan but my mind still wouldn't function properly. It was probably from lack of food or drink, making that my first priority. The night was chilly but wrapped up in my sleeping bag, I was surprisingly warm, I could wrap it around my shoulders to keep me warm while I hunted. Gabbing onto the edges of the sleeping bag, I slowly squirmed out of it's grasp. I went to grab the branch that I knew sat above me in hopes of pulling myself up. However, my hand only made contact with thin air. I looked up to see where the branch was when I realized I could hardly see my hand in front of me, which meant there was no way I would be able to hunt, I would be blind.

I sat back down on my tree, contenting myself with fiddling with the contents of my bag. I had already closely inspected the throwing stars and since I slept in the sleeping bag, I deemed it was safe. The belt of knives still stood as a permanent fixture around my waist so I took the time to inspect the gas mask. I removed it form the bag having taken it off from around my neck when it got too uncomfortable to sleep in. I slipped it over my head and cautiously placed it on my face. And screamed.

I urgently placed a hand over my mouth and managed to stifle the shriek. Just to check, I removed the gas mask from my head to find that it was still pitch black outside and I couldn't see anything. However, when i placed the mask back over my eyes, the forest around me was displayed in crystal-clear vision. That wasn't the part that scared me, though. Ten yards in front of me, a cloudy fog was slowly spreading across the forest bed. It seemed to stem from the same direction the cornucopia was in. Without the mask on, it was undetectable however this didn't indicate whether it was harmful or not. Then, just behind the weird grabby-thingy-tree, a squirrel slumped from its home in the tree and fell to the floor.

The fog kept approaching.

I scrambled backwards on my branch and pressed my back fearfully against the trunk of the tree, cornered. The fog crept towards me. Now that it had founds it's prey, it seemed to move with exaggerated slowness. Then, the front of the mist swallowed me, I froze.

But nothing happened. I looked to the squirrel, assuming that it might just be animals affected. The assumed dead squirrels stomach moved up and down slowly. It was alive! Probably in a severely comatose state but, alive non the less. That's when it hit me! Back in my Mother's apothecary shop, we had a small tank of Gas used to set patients to sleep. Usually, it was odor and colorless but you could taste the sweetness and numbness slightly on your tongue. Desflurane or something. Timidly, I removed my mask, making sure to hold my breath. I stuck my tongue out for mere seconds before it started to go numb and I recognized the sickly sweet smell of knock out gas.

My tongue retreated into my mouth and I replaced the gas mask, taking a big breath. I wondered if any of the other tributes managed to notice the gas or if I'm the only tribute awake. I imagine Bridget from six might have noticed as she was training to be a doctor, the common career choice in six. However, I doubt she managed to pick up any items worth of value at the cornucopia. I ruled her out. A few of the careers probably managed to get hold of a gas mask but I doubt they worked it out in time. It was only by sheer luck and boredom that I did. I very well may be the only tribute conscious at this moment in time.

I swung from branch to branch, positioning myself above where the squirrel lay. I steered clear of the weird tree, that for all intents and purposes and because it sounds better than having to think of an actual name for it, I'm going to call Steve. I threw a branch down to the ground and waited half a minute. When Steve made no move to swallow it, i swung down from the tree and landed with a muted thud. Quickly, I sliced the squirrel's throat with a knife before skinning and de-boning it and then cutting it into five chunks.

Given the fact that I was probably the only conscious tribute in the arena, I made a small fire pit from dead branches, careful not to put on any leaves or anything damp that might cause smoke. With my knife and a large stick, I managed to ignite the fire. I roasted the entire squirrel over the fire. To make it last longer, I wrapped it up in the skin, pinning the small package together with two ribs from the squirrel; one at either end. I put the package into my pack.

After a small internal debate, I left the fire going in the hopes that a tribute might come along and get swallowed by my good friend Steve. I had figured out that Steve sat at the north end of a circle of trees and as I continued on foot towards a water source, I noted three more Steve-a-like's who I dubbed Sally, Sam and Salvatore (okay, so I know very few 'S' names but I liked it!).

The sun started rising and when I heard bird song, I removed my gas mask. I ate a piece of the well-done meat and continued onwards to try and find water. Every now and then, I threw a rock out in front of me to check I wasn't in any danger of being swallowed. The meat left a bad taste in my mouth, lord knows how I managed to ruin meat over a fire. I found a few mint leaves and chewed on them but i knew what I really needed was water. And fast.

I wandered aimlessly in the forest for hours before I heard it.

A small rustle to my left alerted me to movement only twenty feet away. I yanked my knife out from my belt and hurled it at the noise. Only for Fang to catch it.

'What the hell?' I hissed at him.

'I... err...' He stumbled. I grabbed another knife and raised it in warning to him. '

Were you following me?' I questioned.

'Checking in.' I didn't have time to ask what Fang meant by that before three men jumped out of the bush.

Within seconds a fist came flying at my cheek, causing me to drop my knife and jerk to the right. I spun around, going with the flow and delivered a round house kick to Jerk one's stomach only to come face to face with Ari.

'If it isn't little Maxi!' He sneered. I delivered a fast punch to his chin and he jumped back. I took the opportunity to look at Fang to see him facing off against the other two. Both of the tributes I recognized from nine's chariot. For now, I'm going to call them goonie one and goonie two. I kicked my leg out, connecting it with the girl's neck. She dropped to the floor, unconscious. Fang gave me a grateful look before turning to face Goonie two (goonie one is the girl because we're just better!). I turned my back to Fang and backed up until we were back to back. Ari charged at me but i flew out my leg, knocking his breath out of him as he fell to the floor. I shoved my foot down on his neck, ready to snap it.

This was around the point my subconscious showed me pictures of the two kids I killed yesterday. My mind also compared thepictures of the boy to Gazzy. In height and build, they were the same. I looked back down at Ari and his face morphed into that of Iggy's. Goonie one was still on the floor and Fang had two in a headlock. I sighed and removed my boot from Ari's neck.

'Scram' Ari looked at me incredulously for a few seconds before grabbing Goonie one's leg and hauling her over his shoulder. Fang released Goonie two and the pack scrambled. I picked up my knife off the floor and turned to Fang.


	9. Chapter 9

**Okay, I'm awful, I know. And this is a really short chapter, too! Writers block, still! I just have no idea what I'm doing!**

**But, thanks to hahahahahaHAHAnotfunny, PinkPearlWings07, KeBz0, A Small Voice, Luvurstory, GracieLovesADVENTURE, Josie007 and BlueButterfliesPlayOnMyGuitar. Because reading my story and not giving feedback bugs me. **

**Sorry its short. Any ideas for next Chapter.**

Fang stared. I stared. He stared back. My mind raced with pictures of Fang from twelve, kissing Lissa, beating up a man, kissing me. I compared these pictures to the cocky, arrogant Fang i spent so much time avoiding in the capitol. Neither of them fit the picture of his face when he volunteered with me. At first, i thought he was only doing it to spite me, to kill me, in fact. But could he realy be so sure of himself that he would win? Was it worth risking his life over, just to get one up on me?

I reevaluated the indifferent mask he always wore. His eyes always gave him away. So what did I see in his eyes on reaping day?

My ears rung and my head hurt. The world around me started spinning. I licked my cracked lips but my bone dry tongue offered no moisture. The sun baked down on my bare shoulders, both arm sleeves haing been ripped off and tossed to the forest bed during the fight. But the painful pounding in my head was not from sun stroke or exaustion. It was my way of trying to escape the undeniable truth that lay right in front of me.

He wanted to save me.

First of all, woah? Who would have thunk it? Maybe him and the Iggmeister had a pact, that was so_ Iggy_. That must be it, he couldn't possible like me. Those kisses were just Fang being, well, Fang. Right?

Still, it was insulting that Fang thought I needed saving. I'm not a damsel in distress! I could handle myself. I had made it this far. And on my own. I had figured out the creeping mist. I had avoided Steve! I didnt need Fang, nor did I want him. So then, what possesed me to do this:

Fang still stared at me as I worked on deep pschological issues. I brought my eyes back up to look at him, the same time, releasing the knife from my hand. And, threw myself at him. I closed the distance between us in three long strides, meeting his lips fiercely with my own. Fang stood still for only a second before catching on and gripping me to his chest. His arms snared around my back, bending me into him. My hands tangeled in his hair, then ran down his body, undoing the zip on his jumpsuit. I ran my hands up and down his chest before returning them to his hair. My vision began to blur so I took a deep breath through my nose. My mouth opened when Fang's tongue glided across my lips, then proceeding to explore my mouth. A large mass swept my leg out from underneath me, I squirmed to right myself before Fang caught me. Slowly, he lowered himself and I onto the ground, never breaking the kiss. We stayed like that for a while before we heard it.

A hovercraft descended into the forest sixty feet or so to our right. Some Female tribute was hoisted up, blood dripping from various wounds concentrated on her face. Her neck was bent at an awkward angle. From here, you could just about make out the large 'C' etched onto her jumpsuit in blood.

Within seconds, both Fang and I were crashing through the forest. Having missed the cannon fire, we had no idea how close the killer could be by now, giving them a colossal head start. Part of me wondered, hoped that they hadn't eard us. Unfortunately, that turned out to be a pipe dream. The war cries of the careers sounded from behind us, the pack had descended. I stumbled over tree roots, clumsily crashing through the forest. Next to me, Fang glided on in a much stealthier manner. However, what I lacked in stealth, I made up for in speed and overtook Fang.

Still, the careers managed to come closer, now just a few strides away. Making the mistake of looking backwards, I stumbled, kicking a large rock out in front of me. Fang tumbled over myself and we ungracefully tumbled to the floor.

Well, fuck my life!

Or not.

I fail to differentiate between whether I am extremely lucky or just plain stupid. The rock I had kicked landed straight in a venus fly trap. A metaphor for Steve, where in this particular example the rock is the fly. I scampered away from the edge of the deep fissure, letting Steve do his business. The careers stared on in awe, having caught up to us during the time where my face and the floor had an intimate encounter.

The back of my neck prickled as Star, Kate, Ratchett, Holden and Maya raised various knives, axes, hammers and a bow and arrow to my neck. I jumped to my feet to fasce them head-on. Maya stood in the lead, holding the bow at an awkward position in her hands. You could tell by the strain in her arms from holding back the arrow and the quiver of her hand as she aimed she had no experience. I smirked and move to the side so only she was in range of hitting me. No way would she manged first shot. If I could just trick them into a false encounter with Steve...

Behind me, Fang hitched himself off of the ground. I moved left slightly to shield him from the careers. Why, I dont know. Because at that exact moment, Maya open her mouth to release an excruciating nasally sound.

Bad, right?

It gets worse;

'Fang, baby! You caught her for me!'

Say it with me, I'm a dumbass!

**REVIEW! :D**


	10. Chapter 10

**!**

**This chapter is loong overdue, I know. But I started a new school and i've been filling out university applications and there was a big drama with my personal statement. Basically, you have to write about why you should be given a place at university. This is hard enough without the fact that the course i want to do only runs in one place and they only take twelve people a year. Plus, theres' a character limit on the personal statement. Me and my tutor thought that it didn't include spaces but it turned out it did so we had to work to cut out bits. DRAMA!**

**I have no idea where I'm going right now so I'm just going to start writing... **

**Here goes:**

**CHAPTER... WHATEVER...**

I'd like to say I was surprised at what Fang did but, strangely, i'm not. It's not like I exactly saw it coming, especially not when he had his tounge down my throat but still. I really needed to learn to trust my instincts. Especially now that it turns out when my gut told me Fang volunteered to kill me, it was right. So I did what I should have done a long time ago. I ran. I ran like a bat outta hell.

Of course, I knew the carreers would follow me but I had flat out fear on my side. Another disadvantage to being a career is that everything is handed to you on a platter, so they never had to work to get anything. They are also way heavier than I was from all that extra food. by the time they realised their prey hadn't rolled over and given up, I had already got a considerably good start. Combining that with the fact that they moved like a herd of ungraceful, slow elephants, I was confident I could get away. A short cackling laugh erupted from my chest and I took the time in turning around to give my followers the middle finger.

Note to self, running in a forest full of trees that will swallow you at any moment is probably not a good idea. Just a thought. I almost fell into the giant crater Steve had formed in the ground. Luckily, I ran face first into Steve before the ground had time to move. It did, though and I began to loose my footing. Shit. Crap. Shit. Crap. Were pretty much the only thoughts going through my mind at the time. By this point, the ground around me had loosened away to nothing and i was balancing on one of the giant roots to keep myself aloft. But soon, even that started to more. Woody fingers curled around my ankle, dragging me into a black abysess as far as the eye could see. I grabbed a knife from my belt, sticking it into Steve for grip. I held onto that with one hand while my other hand searched for a second knife to pry the roots off of me. About five seconds in total had passed between me running into Steve and Steve trying to swallow me. And i thought we were friends!

About two seconds later, the careers finally decided to join us and I was still struggling to get the roots off of me. My hand held in the bark slipped as my knife dropped about half an inch. I turned around as i heard the thump thump of footsteps. Maya came barreling through the trees, Fang closely following her and the other careers behind him. None of the had time to stop. Frantically, Maya's feet backpeddaled, trying to run away. But Fang had already driven into the back of her. Ratchett skidded and rolled to a stop, his arm dangling over the side of the hole. When he rolled through the air, he had managed to knock over all the other careers except for Star who tripped over Ratchet beofre she could stop. I watched as she grabbed onto him in an attempt to stop herself from falling. All she did was suceed in pulling them both into the hole. Their screams rung through the air as they disappeared from sight. Maya and fang were both grabbing onto the edges of the fissure. Bony hands from the roots of the tree grabbed onto their ankles. As they collected around their new victims, my leg was released. I scrambled to find a footing. One hand was still clinging onto the knife that was esing free of the tree trunk. My other hand hung limply at my side, knife clenched between my fingers. I swung my hand, lodging the knife into the tree to haul myself up. My struggle had caught the attention of the tree as roots left Maya to creep over to me. Quicker than before, I scuttled up the tree using the knifes as hand holds in the trunk. I successfully made it to a large V in the tree, hidden from below, and perched there to gain my breath.

Below, Holden and Star had pulled Maya out of the hole. Fang was still clinging on for dear life. Maya angrily got a knife out of a belt, similar to the one I had on. She hacked at the roots grabbing her foot until they released her and became pulp under her blade.

"Maya..." Fang wheezed. He let go of one hand in an attempt to grab hers but she pulled away.

"Sorry Fang, nothing personal, just business!" She smiled a wicked grin before driving her knife through the one hand of Fangs' that remained clinging to the dirt. Fang let out a strangled gasp. Maya pulled out the knife and Fang plummeted out of view. I resisted the urge to shout NO! but let out a sob into my hand. Maya waved to Fang as he fell. The three cannon fires covered my hysterical sobs.  
>"What did you do that for, we could of used him!" Holden shouted. Maya slapped him across the face.<p>

"Do you want to be next?" Holden shrunk under her gaze. "Good. Now we need to find Birdie girl. There were only three cannon fires so she aint dead but I definitely saw her in that hole. She must of gone that way!" Maya pointed to behind the tree, right next to the spot where I almost fel in. I held my breath. No one moved. After a few seconds, Maya pushed Holden forward;

"Watch your step." She said to him, as she followed the path he took exactly, a knife aimed at his neck. They carefully avoided the tree, walking almost directly under me. When I could no longer hear their footsteps, I let out a sigh of relief.

**Okay, I'm really sorry 'bout this! But it will all make sense soon, it isnt over yet. I had an epiphany halfway through writing this and suddenly I knew exactly what I was doing! I promised you Fax and yee shall have Fax. Sorry its short.**

**REVIEW**


End file.
